A cold case squad yesterday arrested a 48-year old Redmond, Oregon man and charged him with the murder of Edward Jeffery who was shot and killed in the driveway of his rural Salem home in 1986.

Patrick Gordon McCreary - MCJ photo

According to a news release prepared by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Patrick Gordon McCreary was taken into custody at his Redmond home and transported to the Marion County Jail. McCreary is expected to be arraigned on a charge of murder today.

The victim, a 34-year old accountant, was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head by a family member near his rural home on 66th Avenue NE in Salem, Oregon on December 22, 1986. The case turned “cold” after months and years of following leads that didn’t produce results.

Last July the case was re-opened, and the cold case squad reviewed all case materials and physical evidence, leading to the identification of McCreary as a “person of interest”, then ultimately a suspect, the news release stated.

The Marion County cold case squad is comprised of of four volunteers with a special deputy commission who work under the supervision of Detective Mike Myers. Don McMullen, a retired FBI agent; Jeffrey Zens, retired from the Wisconsin County Sheriff’s Office; Jack Janssen, retired from the Salem Police Deparment; and Larry McCloskey, retired from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office; make up the team which was formed in 2004.

The cold case squad has had success in the past. According to reports, they were responsible for the 2007 conviction of William Smith in the 1982 murder of pizza delivery driver Sherry Eyerly, 18. Eyerly’s body was never found.